Concrete step molds



April 12, 1955 o. DARTEZ EFAL CONCRETE STEP MOLDS Filed April 26, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l flag- ATTORN EY April 12, 1955 o. DARTEZ EIAL 2,705,825

CONCRETE STEP MOLDS Filed April 26, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l VEN Rs 0&2; .2) tax LifgvlJabozJs BY 'Zyd jiantz W ATTORNEY United States Patent CONCRETE STEP MOLDS Otto Dartez, Crowley, Lifey Dubois, Abbeville, and Clyde Hantz, Lake Charles, La.

Application April 26, 1954, Serial No. 425,392

3 Claims. (Cl. -118) This invention relates to a mold for making concrete ste s.

1% is among the objects of this invention to provide a mold for making concrete steps, which mold once the concrete is poured and completely set to form the steps or set sufficiently to retain its shape, can readily and easily be taken apart to permit the removal of the steps without damage thereto or to the mold and the parts thereafter can readily and quickly be reassembled to cast additional steps.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mold which results in the production of steps having smooth, round projecting edge portions on the treads.

Still another object of this invention 18 to provide a mold in which the parts thereof are firmly held n place in desired spaced relationship while the step is being cast and which is so designed as to permit ready and quick separation of the parts of the mold once the concrete has set sufiiciently so that the step can be removed from the mold.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the invention is shown incorporated in a mold for producing a step having two treads and the description which follows will be largely confined to the present illustrative embodiment of the invention. It Wlll be understood, however, that the novel features and 1mprovements are susceptible to the production of steps having any desired number of treads and of any desired length by suitable changes in the dimensions of the mold and in the number of riser and tread forming members. Hence, the scope of this invention is not confined to the embodiment herein described.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification and showing, for purposes of exemph fication, a preferred form of this invention, without limiting the claimed invention to such illustrated instance:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mold embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the main parts of the mold;

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the mold taken in a plane passing through line 33 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a step produced by the mold.

Referring to the drawing, the mold of this invention is composed of four main sections, namely a bottom section A, a top section B, a right side section C and a left side section D. The mold is supported on any suitable support E which may be integral with or fastened to the underside of the bottom section A. Support E may be in the form of side plates 11 suitably braced by cross braces 12 (Figure 3). Plates 11 are disposed near the ends of bottom section A and extend downwardly from the under side of tread member 13 of bottom section A to the surface on which the mold rests as best shown in Figure 3. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a supporting leg 14 is positioned at the front of the mold desirably extending its full width. Leg 14 and side plates 11 maintain the mold in upright position with the tread forming members thereof, hereinafter described, in a horizontal plane as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The bottom section A, rests on support E and is of stepped formation. It is composed of tread forming members 15 and 13 connected by a riser forming memice her 16 which has a semi-cylindrical base portion 17 resulting in the formation of a smooth curved or rounded projecting edge 17 on the tread of the step. The tread forming member 13 is provided with a semi-cylindrical projecting portion 18 merging into the base of leg forming member 19 which is shaped, as shown in Figure 3 so that the end 20 thereof protrudes laterally to form a rounded thickened portion 21 constituting the pedestal or base of the finished step. Leg forming member 19 terminates in a horizontal extending flange 22 to which is suitably secured, near the ends thereof, side Wall align-- ing and guide numbers 23 and 24, the function of which will be hereinafter described. Also secured to this flange are a pair of top section aligning and guide members 25 and 26 spaced from aligning members 23 and 24 as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.

Extending in a general horizontal direction from the opposite side edges of tread forming members 13 and 15, are aligning and guiding projections 27, each provided with a slot 28, the function of which will be hereinafter described. Similar aligning and guiding projections 29 having slots 30 extend from the upper portion of the supporting leg 14. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, three aligning and guiding projections 29 extend in spaced relation from near the top of supporting leg 14 and two projections 27 extend from each side edge of each tread forming member 13 and 15. It will be understood, however, that any desired number of these aligning and guiding projections may be employed.

The top section B is of stepped formation and is constituted of a front portion 3!) of rounded or semi-cylindrical shape as indicated at 31 to form a smooth rounded projecting edge 31' on the underside of the rear edge of the tread 32. Front portion 30 may be formed at one end with a flange 33 and at the other end leads into a tread forming member 34 which in turn leads into a.

riser forming member 35 the upper edge of which is integral with or fastened to tread forming member 36. The latter communicates with the back of the front leg section and is constituted of an inclined wall 37 leading into a vertical wall 38 provided with a horizontally extending flange 39. Integral with or fastened to the ends of front portion 30' are two vertical extending walls 40 and 41 of a height equal to that of the mold. Walls 40 and 41, as well as side Walls 42 and 43, defining the sides of the top section B, are formed with a flange 44. Flanges 39 and 44 stiffen and strengthen the top section B. Suitably secured to flange 44 at the ends of the side Walls 42 and 43 and protruding beyond rear wall 38 are top section aligning and guide projections 45 and 46 each provided with an opening 47. When top section B is placed over bottom section A with projections 45 and 46 positioned in the aligning and guiding members 25 and 26, respectively with the openings 47 aligned with those in members 25 and 26, the two sections may be locked in place by pins or bolts passing through these openings. When thus positioned the projections 29 extend through receiving slots 48 in portion 30. Upon forcing Wedge 49 through openings 30, the wall or portion 30' is forced into snug engagement with the face of leg 14. In this way the top section B is automatically positioned relative to the bottom section A to provide a mold of gradually diminishing width from top to bottom of the riser section and of the section forming the front leg which it will be noted is at the top of the mold. In the case of the riser 5i) and any other risers which might be used in producing a step having more than two threads, the difference in width between the top and bottom of each riser in the position the riser occupies in the mold is small imparting a slight taper to the riser.

As the side sections C and D are substantially of the same configuration and construction, only one will be described in detail, the same reference characters being applied to both. Each side section consists of a vertical panel 51 terminating in a base portion 52 of curved shape which results in the formation of a smooth, rounded, projecting edge. Curved portion 52 is provided with two spaced slots 53 for the reception of the aligning projections 27 on the tread forming member 15. Contiguous to panel 51 is a panel 54 tenninating in a curved portion 55 provided with slots 56 for the reception of projections 27 on the ends of tread forming member 13. Contiguous panels 51 and 54 have their upper portion curved as at 57 which curved portion 57 leads into a flange 58. The curved portions 55 results in a smooth rounded edge being imparted to the tread produced between riser forming members 13 and 36. 'The curved member 57 results in a smooth, rounded edge being imparted to the portion of the step cast in the top of the mold when positioned as shown in the drawings, which portion when the step is removed from the mold and reversed in position forms the base of the step.

Flange 58 is provided near its end with aligning members 59 and 60 provided with openings 61 and 62, respectively. Walls 40 and 41 (Figure 2) are provided near the ends thereof with aligning projections 63 and 64 provided with openings 65 and 66, respectively. The aligning and guiding projections hereinabove mentioned it will be understood, not only have the function of permitting ready assembly of the parts of the mold in proper spaced relationship but lock them in place and permit the ready separation of the parts when the pins and wedges which hold the parts locked together are removed. Thus when a side wall is positioned with the opening 61 registering with opening 65 in projection 63 a pin 67 may be inserted in the registered openings 61, 65 to lock these parts. Similarly when opening 62 is placed in registry with opening 68 in member 23 a pin may be placed in these registering openings to lock the parts. In this way and by having the projections 27 extend through the appropriate slots 53 and 56 and locking these parts together by wedges 49' the side sections C and D are firmly positioned relative to the sides 42 and 43 of the top section B to form a mold in which the space between these side walls from the top to bottom of the mold is of gradually diminishing width and a slight taper is imparted to the sides formed therein. Also the side walls 42 and 43 are tapered slightly making the top section B narrower at its back than at its front. This tapering of the sides of the mold, the tapering of the riser forming portions and of the portions forming the front leg, not only facilitates the introduction of the concrete into the mold so the mold is completely filled, but also aids in effecting the removal of the sufiiciently or completely set step from the mold without damage to the step or the mold.

From the above description of the mold it will be evident that in use, the mold is assembled by combining the sections as hereinabove described, i. e., the top section B is superimposed and spaced from bottom section A by inserting guide members 45 and 46 and locking them in place in members and 26 by passing pins or other locking members through the aligned openings in these parts. Projections 29 are, at the same time passed through slots 48 and the lower portion of the sections fixed and maintained in place by the wedges 49. The side sections C and D are then attached to the bottom and top sections A and B as hereinabove described. The concrete mixture is then poured into the open portions of the mold both on the sides and the rear and allowed to set. When the concrete has set sufficiently the mold may be turned so that the bottom section A and support E is on top. In this position the flanges 39 and 44 on top section B serve as a support for the mold. The side sections C and D are then removed by removing the wedges 49' and the pins which hold the side sections in place. The pins and wedges holding the bottom section in place relative to the top section are then removed. The bottom section is then slid forward and upwards from the cast step. The cast step then rests on the top section B of the mold and can readily be raised from the top section B. The step is then free from the mold; it is shown in Figure 4.

When it is desired to reuse the mold and cast another step the parts are assembled as hereinabove described.

It will be understood that if desired the parts of the mold can be separated and the step removed from bottom section A without reversing the mold as hereinabove described, although it is preferred to follow the latter procedure. If the parts are separated in the position shown in Figure 1, the step after removal from the mold is turned upslide down relative to the position it occupied in the mo d.

It will be noted that the present invention provides a mold which forms treads with smooth rounded projecting edges, which mold can be assembled and taken apart readily and which permits the ready formation of steps and their removal from the mold without injury to the steps or the mold.

Since difierent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope of this invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A mold for casting a concrete step, said mold consisting of a bottom section; a top section; two side sections; said bottom section being of stepped configuration and comprising tread forming members connected by a riser forming member and having on the top tread forming member a wall extending in a general vertical direction, a pair of outer side wall aligning and guide members at the top edge of said wall near the ends thereof, a pair of inner mold wall aligning and guide members on said wall; said top section being of stepped configuration and comprising tread forming members connected by a riser forming member, having side walls extending the height of the mold and connected at the rear of the mold with a substantially vertically extending wall, and having front walls extending laterally from said side walls, aligning and guide members on the top of said front walls near the ends thereof, the said vertically extending wall having guide members extended away therefrom and arranged to be received by said inner mold wall aligning and guide members to space the top section relative to said bottom section to form a step of the desired thickness; each of said side sections having at the top ends thereof aligning and guide members, one of which is arranged to be received by one of said outer side wall aligning and guide members, and the other of which is adapted to be received by an aligning and guide member on the top of one of said front walls.

2. A mold for casting a concrete step, said mold consisting of a bottom section: a top section; and two side sections adapted to be detachably secured in desired spaced relation; said bottom section being of stepped configuration and comprising tread forming members connected by a riser forming member and having on the top tread forming member a wall extending in a general vertical direction, a pair of outer side wall aligning and guide members at the top edge of said wall near the ends thereof, a pair of inner fold wall aligning and guide members on said wall; said top section being of stepped configuration and comprising tread forming members connected by a riser forming member, having side walls extending the height of the mold and connected at the rear of the mold with a substantially vertically extending rear wall, and having front walls extending laterally from said side walls, aligning and guide members on the top of said front walls near the ends thereof, said rear wall having aligning and guide members extended therefrom and arranged to be received by said pair of inner mold wall aligning and guide members to space said top section relative to said bottom section to form a step of the desired thickness, said top section being narrower at its rear than at its front; each of said side sections having at the top ends thereof aligning and guide members, one of which is arranged to be received by one of said outer side wall aligning and guide members, and the other of which is adapted to be received by an aligning and guide member on the top of one of said front walls.

3. A mold as defined in claim 2, in which said wall extending in a general vertical direction on said bottom section has its opposite end portions of rounded shape, the said riser forming member on said bottom section has a lower rounded base portion, the said side sections are each constituted of panels having rounded lower edge portions, the said top section has a face wall connecting said laterally extending front walls which face wall is rounded along its upper edge, and said side sections and top section are provided with spaced slots for receiving slotted projections on said bottom section, and locking wedges extending through the slots in said projections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,756,473 Rauber Q. Apr. 29, 1930 2,353,676 Kogl July 18, 1944 2,592,578 Kogl Apr. 15, 1952 2,652,614 Como Sept. 22, 1953 

